George R.R. Martin
George R.R. Martin was born in 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey.
He attended Northwestern University, graduating with degrees in journalism.
Martin refused active service: instead he served with VISTA, in Cook
County, Illinois. In addition to his writing credits, Martin has served as
Story Editor for Twilight Zone, and as Executive Story Consultant, Producer and
Co-Supervising Producer for Beauty and the Beast, both on CBS.
He also was Executive Producer for Doorways on CBS.
At 21, he made his first pro sale to the magazine, Galaxy.
Martin now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

'Charlie swallowed. He felt inadequate enough without the joker detective mentioning his testicles. They
were body-proportional for a hundred pound male rat.'

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Fort Freak is, technically, volume 21 of the most detailed and diverse super powers novelisation ever
created. It is a sequence that has been running, with occasional breaks and changes of publisher, since
the late 80s. This new work can be read as a stand-alone story, but readers just discovering Wild Cards
via George R.R. Martin's currently high profile would not regret starting from the beginning. While much of the
original series is currently out of print, old copies are still available, albeit sometimes quite expensively
depending upon the rarity of the edition you want. Happily, the series has begun to be reprinted with
volume 1: Wild Cards, and Volume 2: Aces High. The premise for the whole
series is that in 1946 an alien virus is accidentally released into the atmosphere above New York. This
virus has the power to instantly recompile human DNA and alter those afflicted. Most people are not
affected. Around ninety percent of those who are susceptible die immediately. The remaining ten percent
are divided into two groups, with a few rare exceptions who could be seen as having a foot in both camps. The
vast majority of victims become what are known as Jokers; mutated and deformed, sometimes in minor
or useful ways, but more often hideously. A tiny minority of those whose card has turned are dubbed Aces;
people who still look human and are gifted with genuine, often spectacular superpowers. What makes this
series so different, is that just because a character has deformities or superpowers, it doesn't change who
they are on the inside. All those afflicted are written with a high degree of realism, complete with the
full range of human foibles.

As is the case with the majority of Wild Card books, Fort Freak is a mosaic novel; multiple
writers working to common themes, honed by an editor. After the wider world adventures of more
recent Wild Card titles, this work sees a return to where it all began, and focuses on
Manhattan's Fifth Precinct, the 'Fort Freak' of the title. So named because Joker and human cops
work side by side along with a smattering of Aces, albeit those with minor league abilities. One
officer, for example, can shape-shift into cat form and glean information from the local
strays. For those of us who have been following this series for some considerable time, seeing Joker
Town depicted again is a welcome return. As is the inclusion of the Sleeper Croyd Crenson, (who for newcomers
is a long time fan favourite, unique in as much as he is sometimes an Ace and sometimes a Joker). There
is also a major event in the life of the Joker known as the Oddity, and developments for some minor
long established characters such as Father Squid and Charles Dutton. In addition, a handful of
entirely new characters are introduced, including the Infamous Black Tongue, a half-snake
half-man. Like the Oddity, IBT is technically a Joker, yet has abilities that might be seen as being
on a par with some of the Aces. Noteworthy characters also in the mix are a beautiful Joker prostitute
whose ability is to enhance sexual arousal, Leo 'Ramshead'
Storgman a Joker cop close to retirement, and a British Ace with the often inconvenient and only partly
controllable ability to mimic the powers of nearby Aces. The main plot stars the aforementioned
Ramshead, working to crack an old murder case before he retires.

Intertwined with this is the story of two rogue cops, who murder a minor Ace, and the attempt to expose
their corruption before they can eliminate the single witness. Sprinkled over these main themes is the
mystery of how a series of seemingly impossible thefts are being accomplished, and by whom.

Over the years, there has been an enormous range of imagination and craftsmanship put into the
Wild Cards world. At first by writers who were already well known, and more recently by
hand-picked newcomers.

There have been ups and downs along the way, but generally the series remains among the very best. Fort Freak
does not scale any new heights but manages to hold ground, and crucially, meld the old with the new.

This acknowledgment of what has gone before, and use of the splendid resource that is the Wild Cards
past, helps to firm up the idea of a cohesive alternate history. There is even a trademark sly reference to a
certain recently deceased superstar, who in this world was a Joker.

What I did not like, were the multiple references to the Wild Cards equivalent of
American Idol, which as far as I am concerned was the most ill-conceived and poorly executed
idea within this series. Also, the rather clichéd nature of the characters and crimes that formed
the police elements of the story could -- and arguably should -- have been given a fresher spin. And I
still want to see more of the (retired) Great and Powerful Turtle. These issues aside, Fort Freak is
a fun read for new and old readers alike, and a worthy addition to the world of Wild Cards.

If Nathan Brazil were dyslexic, he'd be the dog of the Well world. In reality, he's an English bloke who lives on an island, reading,
writing and throwing chips to the seagulls.
Drop by his web site at www.inkdigital.org.